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Pathology

Pathology Overview

Pathology is the study of the nature of disease, including its causes, development and consequences. An integral part of Boston Children's commitment to providing your child with the best possible care is determining why your child needs medical care. Our Pathology Department is dedicated to answering that question.

Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Department of Pathology at Boston Children's Hospital is the largest service of its kind in the world. Our team studies blood, tissue, body fluids and other samples to diagnose and treat children's diseases.

Our research

Our pathology researchers seek to uncover innovative new approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of children's diseases while sharing our results with the research community at large.

Some of the many research projects our team is involved with are:

Causes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Bone deformities and tumors

Angiogenesis factors and inhibitors

Proteomic discovery and translational proteomics

Molecular genetics of iron metabolism and erythropoiesis

Cerebral-cortical development

Genetics and chromosomal translocations in lymphoma and other cancers

Did you know?

A urine test for appendicitis

Our researchers, including Hanno Steen, PhD, discovered a protein detectable in urine that might serve as a biomarker for children with acute appendicitis, potentially preventing thousands of unnecessary surgeries each year.

Using advanced technologies, a multidisciplinary research team consisting of geneticists, pathologists and surgeons at Boston Children's Hospital has identified the genetic basis for CLOVES syndrome, a rare congenital malformation and overgrowth disorder.